We’re big fans of blurbs that use a good quote from the book to allow the text to speak for itself. Very few publishers do this — a real waste of their authors’ voices and talents.

So we applaud Canongate for seeing the value of Helen Walsh’s bleak and honest approach and for having the confidence to expose it to everyone who comes in contact with the book.

This quote is perfectly chosen. There is no need for any explanatory waffle, and it immediately makes you want to read on to find out how the character got into this state and what is going to happen.

It’s a shame that it was felt necessary to shove on so many reviews, none of which are particularly insightful. Far better to let the text breathe and only have one review (we’d recommend the Guardian one as it does offer something a bit unusual) or, even better, none at all.

Overall, this is a brilliant piece of design. The tear splashes and coffee stains say far more about the chaos and desperation of this new mother’s life than any amount of blurb ever could. A fantastically powerful back cover.